School truancy results in jail for another West Michigan mom

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Another Muskegon area woman has been sentenced to jail for failing to send her child to school.

The criminal case involving Sherry Lynn McFail, 30, was filed in 2014, but the truancy problems extend back to 2010, said Muskegon County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Timothy Maat.

The Oakridge school district worked to help McFail get her son, now age 15, to school in 2010 and 2011, Maat said.

Repeated absences and tardies, neglecting to enroll her child in school and failure to show up for a court sentencing resulted in McFail being sentenced to two days in jail. Muskegon County District Judge Raymond Kostrzewa handed down the sentence on March 27.

Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson launched his Operation Graduation program several years ago to combat the issue of truancy. The program provides a series of interventions to try to get parents to send their children to school. In the case of older, uncooperative students, they are provided with interventions as well.

Students are flagged for intervention once they accumulate nine days of unexcused absences. If school officials determine their grades are suffering as a result, school officials try their own interventions. When those are not successful, the students' parents are referred to the prosecutor's office.

Several parents have been jailed as a result of Hilson's campaign against truancy.

In March 2014, McFail notified the prosecutor's office that she was moving to Florida where her child would attend school, Maat said. But two months later, she re-enrolled her child at Oakridge and it was determined the child never was enrolled in school in Florida, he said.

At that point, the prosecutor's office filed a truancy charge against McFail, he said.

McFail was not arrested until September 2015, and Maat said he didn't know why it took so long. The prosecutor's office agreed to dismiss the charge if she could provide proof of school attendance for her child, he said.

On Oct. 1, 2015, McFail pleaded guilty to truancy with the understanding she could withdraw the plea if she was able to get her son to school, Maat said.

Sentencing was delayed until June 7, 2016, to give McFail a chance to prove her child was regularly attending school and avoid criminal charges and jail, Maat said. However, McFail did not show up for sentencing and a bench warrant for her arrest was issued. She was arrested on the bench warrant in January of this year, Maat said.

"The mother throughout this time period indicated a willingness to deal with the problem and in fact it appears after each intervention the attendance did get better," Maat said. "But eventually, it reverted back to the old problem, and there was nothing left but to issue charges."